Wounded Dream
by LilPurrfection
Summary: Abandoned...
1. From Perfection to Ruin

Lilpurrfection: Hiya everybody, I'm currently trying to revise and continue this story so please bear with me.

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**Stuff you need to know**

_'Telepathy'  
_"Talking"  
'Thinking'  
**Titles**  
(me talking to you)

/actions/  
_**/dreaming/**  
**--Change in setting, Flashbacks or POV—**_

_Sound effects_

**Disclaimer: I own ABSOLUTELY NOTHING! Nothing I say, NOTHING! Well except for this plot and my OCs, but other than that I own NOTHING! And I am NOT crazy! **

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**Wounded Dream**

Beep beep beep, sounded throughout the room as a timer went off. Then the sound of running footsteps could be heard echoing down the hall and stopping outside the room in which the timer was sounding. The screen door is opened with a loud bang revealing a girl leaning against the door frame, breathing heavily. She had long, layered, light pink hair that fell around her hips, large sparkling, almost transparent, blue-gray eyes, and an ivory toned complexion. As she pushed herself off of the door frame and straightened to her full five foot and three inches, one could see that her mad dash down the hall had caused her to become slightly disheveled. Her dark gray school skirt was slightly askew as was the large white bow, which sat upon the back of her head, part of her white shirt was sticking out, and somehow two of the buttons on her light gray jacket had come undone.

However the girl didn't seem to notice these things, or if she did she ignored them, instead she rushed into the large room, which was filled with sculptures and paintings, to the large kiln.

"Oh I can't believe it's done! This is soooooooo exciting, I wonder how it turned out," the girl said, her voice brimming with anticipation.

She slowly opened the kiln, peeped over the top, and let out the breath she hadn't even known she'd been holding, when she saw the beautiful porcelain cat within. She slowly reached in, as if she were afraid that it would disappear if she rushed, and pulled it out.

It was such a realistic sculpture of a lonely cat; it had a sleek black coat, clouded blue eyes, and a cute little pink nose. The thing was lovely, and so life-like that it seemed as if it would curl up into a ball at any moment. The thing exuded an aura of loneliness and sadness, and beneath that, though hardly perceivable was anger and betrayal, that seemed to break your heart when viewing it. Many would find this statue to be quite disturbing, but the girl thought it was great. For this was the first sculpture she had ever done of one of the zodiac characters, and it had came out just as she had imagined it would.

Hugging the newly made statue closely to her chest, the girl started to run back out the door, down the hall, out of the school, and on her way home. There was someone there that she wanted to show her newest and greatest achievement.

**_--Girl's POV--_**

I'm rushing home right now, to the one person that ever believed in me, to the one person that ever loved me, to the one person that has always been there for me and said that he'll always be, to my big brother.

It may be odd to others that the first person I would show my accomplishment to would be my brother, and not my parents or even my friends. But the thing is, I have neither, the only one I do have is big brother. You see my parents died when I was little, but even before then, when they _were_ alive, they were never around. Only big brother was, he took care of me and practically raised me, so when the day that my parents' plane crashed in some land far away and they died, I did not mourn, not really anyway. For how can you mourn for something that was never really there and besides big brother was still with me, and that was all that mattered.

As for my non-existent friends…well since I'm usually off in my own little world imagining what my next creation would be and then bringing that thought to life, it doesn't really give me time to make friends. But that's OK with me as well, for big brother is there to do the things with me that friends usually do, so I suppose onii-chan is my friend...my one and only friend.

As long as he's there, nothing can go wrong. For, for me he is the one most important thing in my life, my whole world revolves around him. I just don't know what I'd do if he were to leave, but then again I don't have to worry about that because he said that he'd always be there for me. And big brother _never_ lies.

Well I am finally home, and I just can't wait to show big brother my new sculpture, he'll be so proud. I rush up the stairs to the front door, and quickly opened it. Big brother never locks the doors, so I knew that I didn't have to unlock it.

I stood in the door way in shock and the greeting I was about to call out died upon by tongue, for before me was a horrifying sight. I felt my hold on my sculpture loosen and it fall out of grasp, I slowly moved my gaze from the scene before me to my statue, which was making it's slow decent to the ground. It was like it was falling in slow motion, I wanted so much to reach out and grab it, but I frozen in place unable to do anything but watch it slowly hit the ground and break into a hundred pieces.

I stared numbly at the pile of rubble that had once been my greatest achievement for what seemed like forever, not fully comprehending what happened or rather not really caring.

I slowly lifted my gaze once more to the scene before me, the scene of blood, the scene of death, the scene of betrayal.

The only thing that I could do was whisper, "Iie," over and over again.

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Suzu: And that is the end, sorry to leave you on such a depressing note but I kinda liked the ending. Oh and please note that this story has not been beta'd, so if you happen to find an error pm tell me so that I may change it. Anyway review and tell me if I should continue the story or not. Well ja ne.


	2. A New Life, A New Beginning

**Stuff you need to know**

_'Telepathy'_  
"Talking"  
'Thinking'  
**Titles**  
(me talking to you)  
/actions/  
_**/dreaming/**_  
_**--Change in setting, Flashbacks or POV— **_

**Disclaimer/sniffle/ Since most of you probably think that my story sucks right now, what makes you think that I would be able write and own something as popular as Fruits Basket?**

_A/N: I just wanted to say that I am not into incest or writing yaoi or anything like that, they just freak me out. Though I have nothing against people who like to read or write them. _

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**A New Life, A New Beginning**

_**--Girl's POV--**_

It's been three weeks since that day when I found my brother lying in his own pool of blood...dead, and a lot has happened. Though I don't remember most of it, everything seemed to have blurred and run together. However there were two moments in those three weeks that stood out in my mind crystal clear.

The first was right after I found my brother, I remember muttering the same phrase over and over, while staring at the red blood flowing from the wound in his chest toward the carpet, seeping into its pristine whiteness and staining it. My trance-like state didn't last long however, for the full reality of it all hit me head on like a train. That was when I broke down. My legs gave out from under me causing me to collapse onto the floor, there I curled up into a ball and cried.

I don't think I stayed in that position long, for the next thing I knew I was at the police station...or was it the hospital, I'm not sure which or even if I went to either. All I remember of that time was moving...the constant moving from place to place and the people. There were so many people...or perhaps they were the same person...I can't be too sure on that point either, they all seemed faceless to me. Though I suppose it doesn't really matter for they all did the same thing, whether it be the asking of questions or the poking. The questions, like the people, like everything else for that matter was a blur to me, I can't remember any of it or them at all. I suppose that's sad, not being able to remember days or was it weeks of one's life, but then again I really don't care.

Nothing really matters now and nothing probably ever will again.

I hadn't really started thinking like this until that second moment within those weeks, I think I was in a therapy session with my psychiatrist...I think the people at the hospital or police station or whatever thought that I needed therapy at the time to treat...I think it was my shock...But anyway this...lady...yes, yes the psychiatrist was a lady...I think...well anyway she was talking to me. I think she said something along the lines of it's alright to grieve to mourn, but I had to move on. My brother would've wanted me to...or some load of crap like that. But something she said or perhaps it was just me being fed up with her idiotic speech, triggered a chain of thought within me.

At that time all I could think about was that my onii-chan was gone, that he left me all alone in this cruel unforgiving world. But something she said got me thinking that he would never break a promise to me willingly, deep down I suppose I already knew that but just didn't want to accept it. But now I couldn't do anything but, so I continued down that line of thought and it led me to think that it was the burglar's fault that my big brother was dead. And so I shouldn't blame big brother but rather the burglar. But then I realized that if onii-chan hadn't been home at that time, then he wouldn't have died and the only reason he _was_ at home at the time was because of me. Onii-chan had become a writer so that he would always be home to take care of me.

So in the end it was...my fault, I had killed the one thing that I held most dear life, the one thing that ever really kept me going.

That new found revelation shattered something within me, like when my sculpture shattered against the floor, it broke into a hundred pieces. That something had already started to crack but with that one thought it was sent to oblivion. I'm not exactly sure what that something was but I knew it was something important, perhaps it was my heart or maybe just maybe it was my...sanity.

After that day the tears that I would cry every night stopped flowing, it seemed as if they had been locked away somewhere deep inside me and with them I think my ability to speak and to show emotions on my face.

After that day, I became unemotional to the outside world or as my lawyer liked to put it, half dead. Dead...what an interesting thought, would being dead be any different from being as am now? Will it take away my pain? My guilt? My loneliness? Will I be better off dead than alive?

But the thing is no matter how much I would've liked to die, to kill myself and be rid of this sorry excuse of life, I just can't do it.

I'd like to think that I'm staying alive as a punishment, after all what better punishment can there be than to live with the guilt and pain of knowing that you had been the cause of the death of the person that had been the most important thing in your life, for the rest of your life. But that's a lie, I know it's a lie for in reality I know that the reason I won't kill myself is because I'm afraid. That's right, I'm coward and I've always been one, probably always will.

It's a painful thought but compared to the pain from the other: it is insignificant, a single drop of water in the large stormy sea.

"We are here," my lawyer said pulling me out of my self pity.

Did I mention before that I was in a car with my lawyer, heading toward the home of my guardian? It seems that the doctors or whatever finally judged that I was 'healthy' enough to go live with my guardian. And when I say healthy I mean that they thought that I was sane enough, and _didn't _need to be moved to a mental institution instead. It wasn't that I did anything to make them think that I was a nut case, but then again that was probably the problem. I didn't do anything...at all.

I think they thought that the shock of my brother's death fried my brain or something, since I didn't talk, cry, or eat. Well actually I do eat, but only when the 'nice' doctors tell me to.

If I had been my old self I probably would've found it extremely funny, that or annoying, the way they kept poking me and running tests on me to see if I had become a vegetable. Which I might add I most certainly did not, in fact after awhile I was almost back to normal on the inside.

And do you know what else is funny? _I _didn't even know that I had a guardian: it would seem that my brother had asked one of his writer friends to become my guardian if anything ever happened to him, without actually telling me of it. I've never in my life met this total stranger, that will be taking care of me for the next six years, until my twenty first birthday when I will be inheriting the bulk of my inheritance...that is if I live until then.

I was once again pulled out of my thoughts when my lawyer opened my car door. I looked up at my new...home and step out.

_**--Normal POV--**_

As the depressed girl stepped out of the car, her guardian stepped out to greet her and her lawyer.

"Welcome, it's nice to meet you, my name is Sohma Shigure and I shall be your guardian for the next couple of years. (Does anyone else think that this is wrong? Shigure, the guardian of a pretty, high school girl...Anyway I'm done now).

"It is nice to meet you Sohma-san, my name is Ishiteki Linna and I am your charge's lawyer. All the paper work has been settled, so I shall take my leave now. Sayonara," Linna says while bowing.

"Will you not stay for a cup a tea?"

"No, unfortunately I must go, I have another appointment in half an hour," Linna replied with a glance at her watch, before turning to leave.

Soon she drove away, leaving Shigure alone with his new charge standing in front of the house.

"Come, why don't we go meet the others, I'm sure that Tohru-chan will be happy to meet you," He was met with silence, but didn't take offence for he knew that she couldn't or wouldn't talk.

He led the girl to the door, into the house, up the stairs, and to a bedroom.

"This will be your bedroom for now on, why don't you unpack now, and then come down when you're done," Shigure suggested.

His reply was a hesitant nod from his charge, so he left the room and let her make herself at home.

_**--Girl's POV--**_

I just met my new guardian, he seems like a nice guy. I suppose I can see why Akira left me in his care, and his house isn't too bad either. It's not as big as the one I used to live in, but it's nice, it has the feel of a...home, a real one not just one of those empty husks.

I slowly unpacked my things, which didn't really take long since I didn't have a lot of stuff. I got rid of most of it after my brother's death, the things I did keep were the things I couldn't bring myself to give away or sell. They consists mostly of my brother's books, the family photo album, a couple of trinkets that my parents gave me when they had still been alive, a few seeds from the rose bushes that my brother and I planted five years ago, my earlier sculptures, a stuffed cat, and a few articles of clothes.

'I'd have to buy new ones soon, I definitely don't have enough to last me for months let alone years,' I think as I finger the sleeve of one of my favorite dresses, it was the one my onii-chan got me last year for my birthday.

When everything was as I liked it, I sat on my new bed and was about to slip into my depressing thoughts once more. But luckily I remembered that Shigure-san had wanted me to go downstairs when I was done unpacking, so I got up and went down.

I was walking down the stairs, when I realized that I didn't know where I was going! What was I to do? I couldn't just wonder around aimlessly. So I stood there frozen at the bottom of the stairs, biting my lower lip, the only sign of my worry, hoping that someone would come find me.

I didn't have to wait long before a girl carrying a basket of what I believe was laundry knocked into me, causing articles of clothing to scatter throughout the room.

The girl started to apologize for knocking into me even though it was all my fault after all I didn't get out of the way in time when I saw her coming toward me.

After a while I think she noticed that she was apologizing to someone who technically she didn't know, for she blinked and stopped in mid apology.

"I'm incredibly sorry for running into you, but _who _are you? I'm Honda Tohru." I just stared at her with my dull blue eyes, while continuing to help her pick up the scattered clothing.

I think I made her nervous after a few minutes, but luckily Shigure-san decided to appear at the moment.

"Ah Yumi, I see you've already met Tohru," Shigure-san said cheerfully.

I nodded slowly to show that I had indeed.

"Well Tohru, this is Kinpa Yumi, she'll be staying with us for a while," Shigure-san informed Tohru.

'Talk about fudging the truth!' I think incredulously.

"Oh ok, it's nice to meet you Yumi-chan," Tohru-chan says happily.

Once again the only thing I could do is stare in reply, but this time Shigure-san covered for me. It seems that he knows that I can't speak.

"Oh Tohru-chan, weren't you going to go hang these outside? You better hurry the sun's going to set soon."

"Oh right," Tohru says before rushing up the stairs and to where ever she was going to hang up those clothes.

"So, Yumi, why don't we go see if Tohru's cooked anything for us to snack on?"

'What is she, your housekeeper,' I start to wonder now, but follow him to the kitchen anyway. We rummaged, actually it was more like he rummaged, around in search of something edible, and soon came up with some cookies.

Two cookies (five on Shigure's part) later, Tohru returned from her clothes hanging.

"Don't eat too many of those, I'm going to start dinner now so it should be done really soon," Tohru said with a smile.

I'm starting to think that Tohru is one of those cheerful, glass half full, people that smile at everything...it'd be interesting to see if I'm right.

"Hey Tohru have you gotten dinner ready yet," A boy with orange hair comes barging in.

'/Blink/ Wait orange hair? I wonder if that's natural.'

"Just a few more moments," Tohru replies.

"Hey who are you?" he says after realizing that I was in the room.

Me being mute just...you guessed it, just stared.

I don't think he liked that at all, because he said rather angrily, "What are you staring at?"

I think this one has an anger management problem. I hope he doesn't live here; it could get rather nasty if he does.

"Stop it Kyo, it's not Yumi's fault. She doesn't speak so she can't help staring," Shigure informed the orange haired boy, now known as Kyo.

"Whatever, so why is she here?"

"She's my new charge."

"What do you mean by charge?"

"Her brother just passed away so I'm her new guardian."

"What! That means that she'll be living here!"

"Yep."

"But she's a girl!"

'Oh it's great to be talked about as if I weren't right here in front of them. And what's wrong with me being a girl,' I thought silently to myself.

"It's alright she's from a family that's inside," Shigure-san assured.

"So she knows?" Kyo asked.

"Wait inside what, know what? This is so confusing, it's like they're speaking in code or something.'

"She should, her brother did."

'The hell? What about my brother? What is going on?'

"So, anyone have any idea where Yuki is?"

"Like I would know where that rat is," Kyo says disdainfully.

'...RAT!'

"I think he's at a student council meeting," Tohru supplies helpfully.

'Wait a rat in a student council meeting. What the hell is going on!' I think frustrated.

"He should be back very soon, but why don't we start eating first?" Tohru says while she finishes setting up the table.

We all sit down around the table and Tohru says, "I hope you like Nabe, Yumi."

I just nod and start to eat, rude I suppose but what else can I do? No matter how much I'd want to say something, I just couldn't. Not because I wouldn't but rather that I couldn't, and believe me I've tried.

The Nabe is truly delicious, and we sit in relative silence while we ate. I think I was the cause of the silence but I really don't mind, silence has long since become a well acquainted friend and I take great comfort in her frequent embraces.

This comforting silence didn't last long though for the screen door opened once more and another boy walked in. This one was as cute as the last and also had an interesting shade of hair color. I wonder if they dye their hair or if it's their natural hair color like mine.

"Welcome home Yuki, how was the meeting?" Tohru asked as she handed Yuki a bowl.

'…the rat?'

"It was fine, and thank you," Yuki says as he accepts the bowl.

It doesn't seem that he has noticed me yet, how strange. I mean how often do they get a strange girl in their house? But then again I've always been a little invisible to others.

"Oh hello and who are you? Are you one of Tohru's friends?" Yuki asks when he finally notices my existence.

"Her name is Kinpa Yumi and she just met Tohru today," Shigure-san supplies when I didn't answer.

"Oh..."

I think he was wondering why I was in the house if I weren't friends with Tohru, and probably why I didn't answer his question myself.

By this time I had finished eating so I got up, walked to the kitchen, and started to wash my dishes. However Tohru rushed in and told me that I didn't need to and should leave it there for her to wash later, so that is exactly what I did. I walked out of the kitchen and upstairs to my room, where I plopped down on the bed and commenced to staring at the ceiling with unseeing eyes and letting my mind wonder. And wonder it did until I finally drifted off to sleep.

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Suzu: And that's that. /Sigh/ That was a little boring, but I really needed to set up the setting, so please bear with me for the next couple of chapters. Also if you were to find any errors please pm me or review, I'm always open to constructive criticism. Ja ne.


	3. Deadly Winter Wonderland

**Stuff you need to know**

_'Telepathy'_  
"Talking"  
'Thinking'  
**Titles**  
(me talking to you)  
/actions or sound effects/  
_**/dreaming/**_  
_**--Change in setting, Flashbacks or POV-- **_

_**Disclaimer: Sorry, but I don't own Fruits Basket and that's unlikely to change unless Santa decides to grant my Christmas wish. **_

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**Deadly Winter Wonderland**

_**--Yumi's POV--**_

'/shiver/ Cold...why am I so cold,' I silently think as I awaken from my slumber.

However the place I awaken to is not the place that had I fallen asleep in, instead of the nice and cozy bed, I find myself lying upon a harsh, snow-covered ground. The cause of my coldness.

'But where am I?' I slowly get up and look around.

The only thing I find however is a cold and desolate world. No life, no warmth...nothing. But that can't be right, there is always life to be found, even an unthinkable place like the desert has its own brand of life.

'That's right, there's got to be something else alive here, I just have to find it...I just have to find it,' I start searching, trying to stave of hysteria.

I walked and walked for what seemed like hours, searching, searching, always searching. The things I found however were no longer alive, just lifeless corpses decorating the ground and carefully covered up by the deadly snow.

I know this snow is dangerous, how I know I'm not certain, but I am certain that it is. It seems so soft, so lovely, so pure, so...perfect. Too perfect in fact and so it has to be deadly, after all beneath its beauty lies death, cleverly concealed.

With this in mind I keep walking, fearing that if I stopped the snow would swallow me up and make me join its slumber of death.

This constant walking couldn't last however, I soon feel fatigue tugging at my heels. I have to stop and as I do, I feel myself getting sleepy. I try to fight off this sudden attack of exhaustion, but I can't. I find myself slipping onto the cold snow and into sleep. The last thing I see before sleep claimed me was a snow flake landing on the ground before me. It seems that I was correct, the snow was indeed dangerous and it has begun its work on my body, like it did to the countless others of this world.

_**--Half an hour later--**_

'It's so warm,' I think with a sigh, as I rub my cheek against the soft fur.

'Wait. Fur? Why would there be fur," I slowly open my eyes to peek out at the world around me.

Strangely enough, what I see was not exactly as I expected. I thought perhaps that I had been dreaming before, that the endless stretches of snow had been a dream, but unfortunately in seems as if I have thought wrong. For the sight that greeted me upon my awakening was that of the deadly white snow, before I could start to panic however I noticed that I was lying upon the back of something, something furry, and that we were moving.

"I see that you've awaken," the thing beneath me growled.

"Um...yes," I replied, slowly lifting myself up so that I was able to look at the person that was carrying me.

Though now I wished I hadn't, since what I see shocks me beyond belief, for my savior was just about the most unlikely thing a person could think of.

"Now I know I'm dreaming, yep for there is no way in hell that a wolf can talk and it is equally unlikely that the wolf in question would be saving me from certain death. Yep definitely dreaming, that or my mind has finally decided to fall into the infinite abyss of insanity," I said to myself trying to calm done.

"Sorry little one, but unfortunately you are _not_ dreaming, this is all quite real," the wolf informed me apologetically.

"Yeah, right and why should I believe you? Oh great now I'm talking to the thing!" I cried out, burrowing my face into the wolf's fur once more.

"/sigh/ I am not a _thing_, I am a shadow ookami, and I am here to take you to my mistress," He said patiently.

However I wasn't up to listening to anything else the wolf had to say, after all if I have to go crazy, the least the stupid wolf can do is let me go stark raving mad in peace. Which thankfully he did, he seemed to understand that finding out one is crazy isn't easy, and that I need time to cope with my newly discovered insanity.

'Well I've been expecting this moment to come for ages, I suppose I shouldn't be so surprised. In fact it's probably a relief not to have to wonder when the moment will come, don't have to worry if perhaps it had already happened and I was just too stupid to realize. This way I know with certainty that I have finally gone around the bend, after all when else will I be able to see let alone ride a fully grown and extremely dangerous wolf? Yep, this isn't too bad and plus if I had to go crazy at least I thought up something magnificent to protect me from the cold,' I pondered thoughtfully and with a small contented smile, now that I have come to terms with my loss of sanity.

I was finally wondering where my impromptu savior was taking me, when suddenly we stopped. A little confused by the lack of motion I lifted my face and looked up, and received the second shock of the day. Before me, in the center of all the lethal snow was a thriving copse, which surrounded a small meadow of flowers and in the center of that was a small, crystal clear lake and a large sakura tree in full bloom. I know that being crazy allows me to see the most outlandish things, but seriously this is a bit overwhelming. But hey, I suppose I'll get used to it, I'll have to, after if I'm mad that means that this small piece of paradise is something my crazy mind cooked up.

"You know, you are not _really _crazy. After all to be crazy the person in question would have to believe that she's completely sane, and since you believe the opposite it stands to reason that you are not off your rocker," a girl, I had previously missed, said.

She was leaning against the great sakura tree, her eyes staring at me with curiosity.

"Well if I'm not mad how do you propose to explain him, you, and this place," I challenged, throwing out my arm to encompass everything from the wolf to the crazy setting.

"What is wrong with me?" the girl question.

"Oh nothing, except for the fact that you look like a younger version of me and that you seem to be able to read my mind. Other than that everything's splendid," I bit out sarcastically.

"/sigh/ You seem a little excited why don't you take a few breaths and calm down," the girl soothed.

"Ca...Cal…CALM DOWN...ARE YOU NUTS, HOW THE HELL DO YOU EXPECT ME TO CALM DOWN," I shouted, enraged.

"You know I don't like being shouted at...Yami?" the girl stated thoughtfully.

Before I knew what was happening I found myself being dumped face first into the small lake, when I surfaced spluttering I heard the irritating girl say, "Now isn't that better, the water is just _so_ refreshing," smugly.

'Man I take back what I thought earlier, being crazy totally sucks,' I thought bitterly, while crawling out of the lake feeling like a drowned cat.

"/sigh/ Didn't I just finish telling you that you're not mad? And before you ask me how I am able to hear your thoughts, I'll tell you. You see your thoughts ring crystal clear to me because we're in your mind and I am you," the girl explained.

"Oh and that's suppose to help how?" sarcasm dripping from my every word.

"Bear with me for a moment...this world _is _your mind: it's the world you created for yourself, a place you can escape to at any moment as you have demonstrated. This is also the place where you subconsciously draw ideas for your sculptures and I am...I suppose you can say your inner child. I stay within this world to guide and protect you, the real you."

"If what you're saying is true, then why the hell is my world filled with all this snow, I'd think I would have a more active imagination," I said dryly.

"It usually is, but you see due to your brother's rather bloody death, you suffered a great trauma that has your mind shutting down. Your world used to be beautiful, filled with mystical creature, and foliage of every shape, size and form. However when you started to shut down, the snow came, it fell upon this world and killed everything it touched, when I realized what was happening I quickly came here, to the core of your mind, and set up a barrier. With the help of Yami, I was able to keep the snow at bay and protect your sanity," the girl, or rather myself, said giving the great black wolf a pat.

I could feel my mouth hanging open at her explanations, this couldn't be real!

"Ah but it is, in a way, this is all so very real. This was the world you created long ago, don't you remember? A world that you visited but once before, the time after your parents died, you came to play. Last time there wasn't any snow though, for you were too young to fully comprehend death thus your mind didn't feel the need to shut down completely to deal with pain. Instead your mind made me, I was created for two purposes the first was to be your playmate whenever you withdrew from the real world and the second was as a precaution against a total mental shut down. I had fulfilled the first task long ago, for as you grew older you didn't need me anymore, your brother was able to shelter you from the pain of the real world, and I became your imaginary friend. The second task however I am still completing, for some reason you do not wish to be healed," chibi Yumi said sadly.

"What do you mean, I don't want to be healed, are you telling me that I actually want to go through the pain over and over again?" I inquired.

"I do not know, every night when you sleep and your mind finds a measure of peace, the snow stops so I go out and try to reclaim bits of your mind. But every morning when you awaken, you seem to purposely cause yourself pain and the snow begins a new, and the bits of your mind I had reclaimed the night before is lost again. This is the reason why every morning when you wake up you feel a sense of peace, that is me reclaiming your mind, however than you find something to remind you of your brother and the snow returns causing you pain. It's a never ending cycle of peace then pain," chibi Yumi answered.

"But if you really are me, then why can't you just stop the snow?" I asked.

"I can't because you are the only one that'll be able to save yourself from the snow: you are the only one that'll be able to decide whether or not to put the grief behind you and move on or to remain in the past and in the pain. I can only guide and give you a little piece," chibi Yumi said with a small, sad smile.

"Mistress, the real one shall awaken soon, you must send her back," the wolf told chibi Yumi.

"Yes of course...it's time for you to go."

"Wait, but how do you know I am going to awaken soon?" I asked slightly confused.

"You see Yami, here, isn't one of your creations, he is a being that can come and go from your world and the real world, so he's able to tell when the real sun is blazing fully in the sky," she answered quickly while urging me to leave.

"But how do I go?"

"The same way you came, by going to sleep, by sleeping in this world you'll be awakening in the real one."

"Oh okay," I said before lying down upon the field and closing my eyes.

As I feel myself drifting off of I hear Chibi Yumi's quietly whisper, "Do not forget what I said, you are the only one that'll be able to decide whether or not to wallow in the pain of the past or to move on and live life to its fullest. I can help but the choice is yours..."

* * *

Suzu: Wintery goodness, hope you guys liked, although it is a bit short. Please review so I'll know what you all think. Well ja ne.

* * *

**Vocab:**

**Yami: **shadow

**Chibi: **mini

**Ookami: **wolf


End file.
